The Icy Road
by JulieM
Summary: What if Mac was not on that same stretch of road, on her way back from Norfolk, Christmas Eve? Could she and Harm still hold out hope for a Christmas miracle? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Icy Road.

Spoliers: Hail and Farewell part 1 and the flashback portions of H&F part 2, but nothing else in that episode, onwards.

Because of the date discussed in this fic; Yeah Baby, too and any episode that makes reference to Harm and Mac's baby-deal.

Also, I've changed Sturgis a little, though don't go into his feelings too much. I couldn't stand what TPTB made him into, in the ninth season, so thought I'd change him so that he didn't have a big(-er than normal) stick up his six.

Summary: What if Mac was not on that same stretch of road, on her way back from Norfolk, Christmas Eve? Could she and Harm still hold out hope for a Christmas miracle?

AN: I know that people are going to have problems with Harm's actions (or inaction) during this fic…all I can say is keep reading and keep an open mind.

Disclaimer: This is done purely for fun, so please don't sue me. No copyright infringement is intended at all.

Rating: T; Should be safe for most young adults. Rating just to be safe.

Don't know where this idea came from, but it wouldn't leave me alone until I got it written down…Here it is! I'll try and get the next part out asap!

OOOO

Part 1

Mac gave a sigh of annoyance, as she turned the car around. She was in the middle of nowhere, trying to get home after conducting interviews in Norfolk. But just when she thought she'd have a straight run all the way home, she'd hit a road barrier with a flashing light fixed to it. She would have to take a detour if she wanted to get home, tonight. The General was expecting her to update him on her case once she got back, so Mac gave him a quick call, to let him know she'd be delayed.

"No, Sir," she told him, two minutes later, "I don't see any problem with this going to court…We should be able to sort everything out, if we can just arrange a time for everyone to get together and agree on reparations of some sort…No, I don't anticipate any further problems, once we can get everyone to agree…It won't be a totally smooth road, but at least we can keep it out of court…Aye Sir, I'll see you in about an hour…"

After hanging up, Mac pulled a map of Virginia State out of her glove-box, so that she could find the quickest way around the road-block and get back on the route that would take her home. This time of night, on a snow-filled Christmas Eve, no less, nobody else was on the roads and it wasn't as easy as following somebody who looked like they knew where they were going.

Mac found a route that would take her through a nearby forest, but which she hoped would quickly get her back on track.

OOOO

"So why didn't you invite Colonel MacKenzie over?" Mattie asked, taking a sip of her drink and going back to her roast turkey dinner.

"She's in Norfolk," Harm told her as he tucked into his own meat-free option, "I told her she was welcome to join us at any point, but I don't really see her stopping by…"

It was a lot more complicated than that, but Harm had been thinking enough about it lately; he didn't want to get into all of that with Mattie…

"She'll probably just go straight home and get herself back into the warmth. It's really starting to come down, now."

Looking out of the apartment window, they both saw that the fall of snow had indeed picked up.

"I hope she's okay," Mattie mused, out-loud, thoughts of her own Mom on her mind, "Those roads will probably be slippery…"

OOOO


	2. Chapter 2

OOOO

Part 2

Mac took he eyes off the road for a second to turn up the radio back up, recognizing the song that had just started as one she quite liked. That was all it took, for she was going faster than she really should have, in her rush to get home and the curve in the road was upon her before she had the chance to correct the wheel. In the blink of an eye she was off the road and barreling down a snowy embankment. In the snow, ice and dirt, the brakes were worse than useless and did nothing to slow the progress of the car. As she was in a JAG Headquarters vehicle, Mac wasn't as attuned to the car as she would have been to her corvette and the wheels locked as she tried to push her foot down harder on the brake.

OOOO

"You think Mac might still show up?" Mattie asked, as she and Harm settled down on the couch to watch a Christmas movie.

"Nah," Harm shook his head, "I don't think so…She should be back in DC by now, even if she had to go and see the General first…No, I think she probably just went home…"

"You miss her, don't you?" Mattie picked up on the sentiment that he had tried to keep out of his voice.

"Yeah…" Harm decided to admit, "She's kinda been avoiding me, lately, I think…I don't know what it is; maybe the time of year, which isn't particularly her favorite or maybe just some of the stuff she's been through, lately."

"Health problems?" Mattie asked.

Harm hadn't told her much about what had been going on with Mac, lately, but seemed to be concerned about her and spent quite a bit of time checking up on her, if their phone conversations were anything to go by.

"Yeah," Harm nodded, adding, once he caught her worried expression, "But not anything too serious. Really..."

"Okay," Mattie nodded, but couldn't shake the feeling that it must be something quite serious, at least to Harm. She knew he cared a lot about Mac and although she got the impression that Harm wasn't quite as close to Mac as they had once been, she knew he'd been very concerned about her, of late. Tonight, she didn't know whether he just wanted to show her that he was really enjoying spending time with just her, or whether he had given up on Mac.

OOOO

When Mac came to, she hurt all over and her hands slid as she attempted to push herself away from the steering wheel. Her fingers were sliding in the blood from a nasty wound to her head and as her eyes adjusted, she realized that the car was sitting almost perpendicular, nose down to the ground, in the trees it had hit after taking flight, off a small cliff. It was quite a distance up and as it was snowing again, Mac knew she'd be better staying put. Miraculously, the engine was still running and the car was warm, but who knew how long the battery would last? Her safety belt had somehow come undone and Mac had known as soon as she tried to move that a few of her ribs had to be broken. No, there was definitely no way she would be leaving the car, she quickly decided. With a groan of pain, she settled back against the steering wheel. This position was hardly comfortable, but with the position of the car and the battered state of her body, she was so tired that she had little choice but to obey her first impulse and go back to sleep.

OOOO

Gordon 'Biff' Cresswell looked at his watch again, noting that it was getting late. He had hoped that his Chief of Staff would be here before he left for home, but as she had explained about the road closure, he knew she'd probably be delayed. Picking up his phone, he tried to call her, to let her know to just go home without detouring to Falls Church, but all he got was her answer service. She was probably out of range. He left her a message then gathered his belongings together and made his way out. On his own way home, he was totally unaware that he passed within 200 meters of Mac, the skid-marks and tire-marks in the snow now covered by fresh new snow.

OOOO


	3. Chapter 3

OOOO

Part 3

When Mac came to again, it was somewhere around 3am. Her internal clock had been knocked off a bit, but was not totally destroyed. Moving as little as possible, Mac tried to locate her cell-phone, which had been on the passenger seat next to her before her crash. It was probably somewhere in the leg-space where the passenger would be, but Mac couldn't even breathe without pain, let alone move. The side of her face continually stuck to the semi-dried blood all over the wheel and dash, but the nasty cut to her forehead no longer dripped blood into her eyes, so Mac felt a little more comfortable than she had been.

"I can't believe this is the way I'm going to spend Christmas," Mac thought, which stung at her heart a bit, "I won't even get to bring Harm and Mattie their Christmas presents in time…"

She had planned on stopping by there, on her way home, although she knew that Harm had planned a special dinner for Mattie, so she hadn't planned on staying long; just dropping by. Now, she only hoped that they'd raise the alarm, when she didn't turn up. But remembering the times during which she had held Harm at arm's length, lately, she knew he might not think anything of her no-show at all…Which only left General Cresswell to pin her hopes to.

OOOO

Harm woke to the sound of somebody by his bed. It was Mattie. Looking at his alarm-clock, he saw that it was nearly 3.30am.

"What's wrong, Mattie?" he asked, gently.

"What you said about Mac, earlier…It is something serious, isn't it….What's wrong with her…I mean, you went and stayed with her for a day, when she got out of hospital and you said it was just to help her until she got back on her feet, but…I don't know, I just get the feeling there's more to it, than that…"

Harm gave a sigh, sitting up and patting the space on the bed next to him, gesturing for her to take a seat.

"Yes," he admitted, "I have been worried about her, but no, it's not anything serious…Not anything life- threatening, anyway. It's worried both of us, but you know what I'm like when it comes to Mac…She's my best friend…"

"I just get this bad feeling," Mattie shook her head, unable to explain it, "I dunno, maybe I'm over-reacting, but I woke up with a really bad feeling in my stomach and now I can't get back to sleep."

"Don't you worry about Mac," Harm smoothed his hand over Mattie's curls, "We'll see her tomorrow at Bud and Harriet's. You'll see, she's doing fine.."

Mattie went back to her bed on the couch, still feeling no better, despite Harm's assurances.

Unknown to her, Harm was awake for quite some time, too.

OOOO

It had been more than thirty minutes since dawn had broken and despite leaning on the horn as much as she could manage (it took a lot of energy just getting her arm up between herself and the steering wheel) Mac was still no closer to being discovered. Mac knew that few people would be passing this way on Christmas morning.

The engine of her car had died some time before and although the snow had now stopped, she was still very cold, most probably, she surmised, not helped by the blood loss. Now that the snow had stopped, however, maybe the highway patrollers and the trucks to salt the roads down would be coming out, again…

She soon drifted back to sleep.

OOOO

"Uncle Harm! Mattie!"

Once Little AJ had gotten over his initial excitement, he quickly asked about his Godmother.

"Uncle Harm? Where's Aunt Mac?"

"She's probably still on her way here, buddy," Harm told him, "I'm sure she'll be here soon…"

Little AJ, however, had thought that they would have come together. He was used to always seeing his Godparents together, for when one was around, if the other was not then they were usually not far behind.

"Look what Mattie has brought you," Harm caught his Godson's attention again.

"It's from both of us," Mattie told the little boy, handing him the brightly wrapped package.

"But Mattie picked it out," Harm added.

Little AJ, like most five-year-olds, was soon caught up in opening his presents.

OOOO


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Thanks so much for all the great reviews...To all of those who are anxiously awaiting Mac's rescue; Breathe deeply! We're not quite there yet, but you know I'd never let Mac down!

OOOO

Part 4

"It's not like the Colonel to be late," The General remarked, as they all went to take their seats around the table that Harriet had packed with home-cooked delights.

"I'm sure she just got caught up with something," Bud mused, from where he was slicing the turkey for his guests.

"She usually calls Chloe on Christmas morning," Harm added, although the knot in the pit of his stomach tightened, even as he spoke, "I'm sure she just got a bit caught up in chat. You know what girls are like!"

The last of this was said to his Godson, sitting next to him, who giggled when Harm went to tickle him. Little AJ had been telling him all day how 'yucky' the girls were, in his class at school.

Mattie was only able to pick at her food, she hadn't felt like eating much since late last night, though she couldn't put her finger on just why.

OOOO

"Maybe we should just go ahead and open presents, even though the Colonel isn't here," Harriet pondered, aloud.

At JAG this year, Coates had arranged a Secret Santa and everyone had drawn the name of a fellow worker out of a hat, almost three weeks before. Harm didn't know whose Mac had drawn, but Harriet had told him that she had some presents set by, which would be suitable for almost anyone. Harm's present for Petty Officer Coates now sat alongside the other presents under the tree and Mattie also had gifts for Jen and Mac, her present for Harm having already been given to him, that morning.

After the excitement of the gift-giving was over, everyone sat with a gift, even Harm. It turned out that Mac must have picked his name in the Secret Santa, because even though they weren't supposed to know who they were receiving from, Harm knew that this gift with an unmarked card was the one Harriet had put under the tree a short time before. It turned out to be a novelty coat hook that fixed on the back of a door, so Harm had decided that he would put it up inside his office at JAG.

After all of the gift-wrap was cleared away, Harm went in search of Mattie, who had disappeared from sight soon after the gift-giving was done.

He found her on the front porch of the Roberts house, just staring off into the thick blanket of snow, outside.

"Hey, is there something wrong?"

Mattie had been quiet all morning.

"Just feel a little weird, that's all…" she replied.

"It's great having you here, you know…" Harm took a seat next to her, giving her shoulder an affectionate squeeze, to let her know that he was glad she had chosen to spend her first Christmas since she returned to her Father's care, with him, "And everyone's so happy to have you here. I know it feels a little strange, after all this time, but…"

"No, not like that," Mattie interrupted, "Just as if…something's missing…or not quite right…It's probably because Mac's not here…"

"I know you wanted to give your present to her, I've got one of my own for her, but she probably just wanted to sleep in today, after her trip to Norfolk. I'm sure she'll be by, later."

Hmmm," Mattie nodded, still not convinced.

OOOO

Mac maneuvered herself so that she could get her hand on the horn, again. Her breathing was labored because of the effort, on top of her painful ribs and again, it brought no reward. The highway, even at its busiest, was probably goodness knows how far away and nobody would have their windows rolled down in this weather, so as to hear her. She could only hope that somebody noticed the break in the shrubbery where her car had left the road and entered the forest, but those were long odds, too, considering how much it had snowed, since. She only hoped that somebody would miss her and come looking.

With a jolt, she realized that she was missing Bud and Harriet's Christmas party. She had presents in the trunk of her car at home for Harm, Mattie, Jen, Bud, Harriet and all of her Godchildren, including the two babies. She had so been looking forward to seeing the kids. She'd been kept so busy with work, lately and she just wanted some kids to play with, even if she wasn't able to have any of her own. Mac had come to terms with her condition by reasoning that she would play an even more important role in her Godchildren's lives now, than ever. Even if she didn't have her own kids, she'd spoil Bud and Harriet's as if they were he own. Harriet didn't mind sharing her bundles of joy, from time to time!

Now, she only had to get out of here, so that she could go and spoil her Godchildren on one of the most important occasions for such matters…

OOOO


	5. Chapter 5

OOOO

Part 5

"How about we stop by Mac's place to give her presents to her?" Harm suggested, as they came up to the exit for Georgetown.

He'd been thinking up excuses for Mac's absence all day, but now, regardless of how she had been acting lately, he still could not help but think how unlike Mac this was. His Mac would never have missed Christmas day with her Godchildren, no matter how much she was hurting about her own condition. Sure she'd asked for some time to herself and the last thing he wanted to do was put pressure on her and watch her run again, but what harm could one visit do? He'd just say that Mattie really wanted to give her gift to her.

Mattie nodded, eagerly, so Harm took the exit.

Twenty minutes later, they were at Mac's front door, but their knocks went unanswered.

"That's funny," Harm mused, trying not to show just how worried he was, for Mattie's sake.

He thought he had heard that General mentioned earlier that he had not met with Mac, the night before, but had just authorized her to go home. Fishing the cell-phone out of his pocket, he tried calling Mac's home phone number. They heard it ringing on the other side of the door, until her answering machine picked up. After Harm had unsuccessfully tried to appeal to Mac to answer the phone or the door, he tried her cell-phone. Like Cresswell had, the night before, he only got her voicemail. After leaving another message, he and Mattie made their way back to the car.

"Maybe we should go and look for her," Mattie suggested.

"Where?" Harm asked, but Mattie was only able to shrug.

They both knew that she should be at home, as her car was there and could not think of where else she might be, barring Bud and Harriet's house. They drove home and Harm put a call into General Cresswell, once they got inside.

"Hello, Sir? Yes, it's me…I've been by the Colonel's place and she doesn't seem to be there…Yes, it's in the usual parking space, so I can't imagine where she'd go, without the car, in this weather…The JAG vehicle? No, I hadn't thought of that…She didn't leave it at JAG, last night? A road closed, huh? So you never saw her last night, Sir? Okay…I guess I'll wait to hear from her…It'll be dark soon and it's probably not a good idea to go back out into that snow…Goodnight, Sir."

"He thinks she must have gone to visit someone, without telling us not to expect her," Harm told Mattie, but both of them knew that she wouldn't do that, not under normal circumstances. They both knew how much her friends and her Godchildren meant to Mac and that she'd never let them down on Christmas day, let alone do so without letting any of them know not to expect her.

"I still think that we should go out and look for her," Mattie shook her head.

"I'll try calling her again, Mattie," Harm placated her, "but I don't think it's a good idea that we go out in this weather…"

"Mac might be out in this weather!" Mattie exclaimed, but a little louder than she had meant to and immediately apologized for raising her voice, "I'm sorry, I'm just worried…I have a bad feeling about all of this…It's not like Mac…"

"I know, but the last thing she'd want is for you and I to get hurt, going out looking for her in this weather…" Harm hugged Mattie to him, trying to keep himself together.

OOOO

Mac's thoughts were indeed of Harm and his ward.

"I hope they're not out in this weather," she mused to herself.

The snow had started up, once again and Mac knew that if the road had been closed, like the route she'd tried to take the night before, it would be a long time indeed before she was found. It would be dark before too long and Mac could already feel the temperature dropping. She was in for another hard night ahead, but at least she still had her uniform coat on. She'd also managed to pull a blanket over her, which had been sitting on the back seat of the car and she had noticed that it had fallen against the seat, behind her, soon after she awoke at dawn.

"What if I don't see them again?" the thought drifted into her mind for the first time, "What if they don't realize how much they mean to me and I never get to tell them?"

She mentally shook the thought away, but it was getting harder to remain optimistic, having been trapped inside the car for nearly sixteen hours, now. She was getting weaker and it was getting harder to move enough to slide her hand in to reach the horn. Now, Mac knew that virtually nobody would be traveling along the route nearby after dark, even if it was still open.

When her latest efforts went unrewarded, once more, Mac settled herself back down against the wheel to drift back to sleep.

OOOO


	6. Chapter 6

OOOO

Part 6

"It was very unusual that the Colonel didn't show," Bud mentioned to his wife, when she came back downstairs, after putting their oldest two children to bed.

She sat down beside him on the couch, where he was bottle-feeding Nikki, while Michael slept soundly in the Moses basket at his feet.

"I know," Harriet shook her head, "It's not like her to not call, either…Maybe she got called away for something…Has she heard anything from her Mother or her Uncle Matt, lately?"

"Not to my knowledge," Bud shook his head, "But she hasn't been saying much to me, heck, to anyone, lately…I did ask and she said that Chloe and her Father were going away to France, on a skiing holiday this Christmas, but that she was anticipating their call, all the same…"

"You don't think anything could have happened to either of them, do you?" Harriet asked, worriedly.

"I don't see how, because even if it did, Dulles was closed most of the day and there were no flights going out of any other airports, either, due to the weather…But then, I don't know why she wouldn't have called, either. This is so unlike her…"

Once they got the twins fed and changed, they busied themselves with getting them to sleep, but all that night, their worry for Mac stayed somewhere at the back of their minds, at the very least.

OOOO

Harm and Mattie's night was similarly disturbed. Even though he tried not to show it, for Mattie's sake, Harm knew that it wasn't like Mac not to show for a friend's party, even though the General had not made attendance compulsory.

"How come you're not the least bit worried, Harm?" Mattie demanded, shifting in her seat for the umpteenth time since they had sat down to watch tv, "She's your best friend!"

"I am," Harm tried unsuccessfully to persuade her to keep still, "but Mac is a Marine and is capable of taking care of herself…I'm sure that she just wants some time to herself and that she'll be in touch with us, soon…"

"That's not the Mac I know and if you really think that, you'd better tell me just what has happened between the two of you lately to make that the case…Did you go and say something stupid to her, again?"

"Hey, calm down…Nothing's happened between Mac and me, but she and I have just been busy, lately, that's all. We haven't had too many cases together and we've just been getting on with our own jobs…"

"Yes, but you never even talk about her, lately…How come we haven't done anything together, since I came to DC to visit? How come we haven't gone Christmas shopping together or anything?"

Because you still had a present to get for her, remember?" Harm joked, then sobered at Mattie's stern look, "Okay, I know, I know…Mac's been closing herself off, lately, that's all…I don't know if it's just work or…something else, but I can tell you right now, I have said nothing to upset her, okay?"

"Have you been ignoring her?" Mattie asked, pointedly.

"No," Harm insisted, "but she did tell me that she needed some time to herself…She's been through a lot this year, with Webb and all…"

Mattie knew about the spy's death, but the details about his 'resurrection' were of course classified, so Harm hadn't been able to tell Mattie the whole story.

"And then, of course, with the surgery…" Harm cut off, here, but Mattie picked up on his sudden silence.

"Why did she need to have surgery, Harm?" Mattie asked, though only out of genuine concern, "Why did she have to go into hospital to have surgery, in the first place?"

In the face of how worried Mattie was, Harm grappled with easing her curiosity and betraying Mac's confidence. He cared about Mac more than anyone, which is why he had accepted her request for space. He knew what happened when Mac was backed into a corner and he felt he'd done too much to upset her in the past years.

"I…I really don't think it's my place to say, Mattie…I know you're worried about her, but I'm sure that Mac is fine…"

"If she was, you wouldn't have noticed how quiet and closed-off she's been," Mattie contended, "If it's my discretion you're worried about, please don't because I would never say anything, but I'm worried about Mac and I want to know just in case I can help her…"

With a second more of thought, Harm decided (though not lightly) that Mac would understand him telling Mattie about her condition, seeing how the teenager was getting so worked up.

"Okay…Mattie, Mac had to get surgery for a problem she's had for a while, now…Just before Webb died, she'd been having some lower back-pain, so she went to see her doctor at Bethesda, who referred her to a specialist…"

"A specialist in what field?" Mattie asked.

"A specialist in Gynecology," Harm replied, "Mattie, Mac's got a problem called endometriosis. Do you know what that is?"

"It's a women's health thing, isn't it?" Mattie asked.

"Yeah and even though it is quite an advanced and serious case, it is in no way life-threatening. Mac just didn't want the news spread around, but it isn't as though she's hiding anything too major. She just doesn't want people to make a big deal of it."

"Then why did you go to take care of her, after her surgery?" Mattie asked, "You said she still managed to go to the dining-out for the admiral…"

"Just to make sure she took it easy…you know what she's like, with that 'I'm a Marine' speech and everything…It was only for a day and then when she assured me that she'd take it easy, I came home…"

"So has she got the problem taken care of?" Mattie asked, "Is that what the surgery was for?"

"Yes and she has medication, too, but like I said, her condition is advanced…"

"What does that mean?"

"It means…Well, her doctor has told her that it's…it's unlikely she'll be able to have kids, Mattie…"

Mattie sat in silence for a minute, taking this all in.

"Well, no wonder she wanted time to herself," She eventually spoke up, "Even I want to have kids some day and I'm only 15…"

She turned round suddenly and hit Harm on the arm.

"Ow, hey! What was that for?" he demanded.

"For being here, instead of with your best friend!" She exclaimed, adding, "You should be taking care of her, not baby-sitting me!"

"It's not…Mattie, she said she needs time on her own…"

"All women say that, Harm, but at the end of the day, they need somebody to talk to; somebody to just give them a hug and tell them it'll be okay. You should be with her, taking care of her. This is an incredibly big thing, to any woman, no mater what her age, even I know that!"

"Believe me; she doesn't want me there, Mattie."

"Why? Because you're a man? You're her best friend, Harm!!"

"Yes, but…I'm…It's just not that simple, Mattie…"

"It should be. Friends look after each other, no matter what. Wasn't that what you said before Webb died? That she may have a boyfriend, but that she was your friend and that you weren't going to let anything get in the way of that..."

"Yes, but then there wasn't any issue about her being able to have kids…It just wouldn't be appropriate for me to offer her support on this issue…"

"Why?!" Mattie just couldn't understand.

"Because I'd make it worse…I'd be a constant reminder…"

Mattie looked at him, clearly thinking he'd lost the plot.

"Five years ago, when little AJ was born, we decided that by his fifth birthday, if neither of us were involved, we'd have our own child, together…"

OOOO

AN: I will post again later, I promise!


	7. Chapter 7

OOOO

Part 7

Mattie's jaw fell open.

"He's five already…" she stammered, when she finally found her voice again.

"Exactly," Harm nodded, "the date has passed and after all that's happened in the last few months, she thinks that she won't ever be able to hold her end of the deal up."

"That's why she's closed herself off to you," Mattie surmised.

"Yes," Harm nodded, in confirmation, "I think so…And I can't just go over there and offer my support, because I'm the constant reminder of that fact…I think that's why she couldn't bring herself to come to the Christmas party, tonight, too. Little AJ has got to remind her of all of this. The twins and Jimmy, too. It's been a while since she's done anything with any of them. I know she's been busy with work, I have too, but…"

"It's still not like her…" Mattie finished for him.

Yeah," Harm shook his head.

"I still don't feel right about this morning," Mattie went through everything she felt within herself, including her gut-reaction after learning this new information, "I'm still worried about her, Harm…"

"I know," he hugged her, "Me too."

OOOO

When Mac came to again, she was shivering, so she tried her best to pull the blanket tighter round herself. Her ribs were aching and the steering wheel was hardly the best thing to snuggle up to…She could think of many more comfortable places to be, in her sailor's arms was one of them, even if it was in the middle of the Afghan desert.

Her present situation came back to her, then, with glaring clarity. Even though she was now away from dropping bombs, potential terrorists and stinging scorpions, her safety was much more jeopardized here. She was already hurt, perhaps quite badly and there was little chance of anyone finding her. Any damage her car had left on the landscape had long since been covered up by the falling snow and probably none of her colleagues had even missed her at the JAG staff party. It was all her own fault, really. She'd been so wrapped up in her own problems that she hadn't taken part in her friend's lives in such a long time and they had moved on without her. Harm had seemed to accept her closing off to him and had moved on with Mattie...She would probably never see their kind faces again.

"I wonder how long it will actually take anyone to find me?" She asked herself, "Maybe spring will be here by the time anyone realizes I'm gone…"

She didn't even think about how she was supposed to report for work, the next day.

But it was still going to be a very precarious night for her, before the morning ever came.

She lulled herself back to sleep by thinking thoughts of her favorite flyboy.

OOOO

Cresswell poured himself a rare glass of whiskey, as he sat down in his library, before dinner.

"So you haven't heard anything from the Colonel?" his wife asked, from the doorway.

"No," he shook his head, "and it's not like her."

"She did seem to be a very efficient young woman, all the times I met her or spoke with her…Does she have family, somewhere? Maybe there's been some sort of family emergency…"

Biff shook his head, adding, "She's got virtually no family anywhere nearby, from what I can understand and with this weather, there was no way she'd get a flight out of the state…"

"How very peculiar," Mrs. Cresswell shook her head, puzzled.

OOOO


	8. Chapter 8

AN: I know; I've kept you waiting! Sorry, but I've been into real angst for a while now! ;oD Here it is! The staff of JAG will spring into action!

OOOO

Part 8

"I wonder if she would have had his looks and my brains…" Mac thought, slightly deliriously, to herself about the child she and Harm should have shared, together, "Or maybe he would have had my looks and Harm's brains…"

With the pain she was experiencing just now, only her thoughts were able to give her any comfort.

"Harm would have made such a fantastic Dad…"

She couldn't bring herself, at that moment, to think that maybe someday he'd go on the have kids without her. She just continued to think about all they could have had together. If she was destined to die like this, she was going to think happy thoughts until the end.

"Maybe we could have even had one of each…"

OOOO

"I don't care what you say, Harm, I know that there is something very wrong with all of this…"

Mattie was by now beside herself with worry and Harm was truthfully not far behind her.

"I know, Mattie, I'm worried too…"

"Then let's do something…I can't just sit around here, waiting for her to call…"

"What can we do? We have no idea where she is and the roads…"

"We'll be fine in your SUV…C'mon, let's go to Mac's. We can get the landlord to open the door to her apartment and if she really isn't there, then we'll look around and see if there's anything to give us a clue as to where she has gone…"

Harm gave a sigh then nodded. They'd have to be very careful on the roads, but a trip back to Mac's house wouldn't be too dangerous, he didn't think. He made sure to grab the old key to her apartment that Mac had given him many years before. They had both swapped keys, but it had been a long time since their friendship was in any state to allow him to use it.

"C'mon, let's go…" he guided Mattie out of the front door, once they had put on their coats.

OOOO

"There's nothing missing, I think…" Mattie frowned, as she looked in Mac's closet, "How many uniforms does she have, Harm?"

"I don't know…" Harm shook his head, helplessly.

Mattie took a deep breath to calm herself, as she thought of what to do next.

Sorting through the row of uniforms, she noticed that there was one clothes hanger empty, in between two other uniforms.

"Well, this would seem to say that one uniform is missing. But we can only hazard a wild guess, as to her civvies…Harm, do you think she got home from Norfolk, okay?"

Harm rubbed his head, feeling a stress headache beginning at his temples.

"Oh God, I hope so…She spoke to Cresswell to tell him that she'd be late, because she had to take a detour, but she thought she wouldn't have any more trouble, once she got back on the correct route…"

"But she never called anyone to let them know that she was home? I think we should go out and look for her…"

"Hang on," Harm stilled her, pulling out his cell phone, "I'm going to call the General and get his input…"

OOOO

"I really hope she's not out in this weather," Mrs. Cresswell told her husband, worriedly, as they followed the snow plow.

A few phone calls had been all it took for Cresswell to arrange for several heavy vehicles to go out and clear the roads. All of those staff members he contacted had readily offered to help, so now they were all searching different routes in and out of DC.

"She called me from the road block along the route she'd normally take," Biff told his wife, while she read the map, "So I figured she'd either take one of five roads, assuming they were all open, at the time."

"Who is taking the others?"

"Turner, Rabb, Lieutenants Roberts and Simms-Roberts and Coates…"

Almost to himself, he continued, "My God...We never shoud have let it go on this long...I only hope we're over-reacting..."

OOOO


	9. Chapter 9

OOOO

Part 9

Mac was in the midst of some very pleasant dreams, before she came to, because she was shivering so violently.

"Oh!' she groaned, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep and resume her daydreams of chubby babies with Harm's eyes.

She pulled at the blanket that was slipping loose and lay her head down on the cold steering wheel again. At first she had been thankful that the windshield and all of the windows were al intact, but now she was beginning to think that a quick death might have been the easier option…

"It was never supposed to be like this..." she mumbled, as tears slipped down her face, "Oh, Harm! Please help me…"

OOOO

The same time…

"C'mon, Ninja-girl!" Harm mumbled to himself, "Where are you?"

Mattie glanced over, but said nothing, going back to looking along her side of the road.

"How about there?" She asked and for the hundredth time, Harm pulled over where she pointed. At this time of year, the trees were very uneven anyway, making it hard to guess were a car might have left the road…But Harm just hoped to God that Mac wasn't out in this…

"I don't think so, Mattie…Let's keep on looking…"

"Okay."

They pulled back out into the now-clear road and Mattie silently uttered a prayer.

OOOO

"Are those skid marks, Biff?" Mrs. Cresswell asked her husband, as they saw the snow-plough pulled up, in the distance.

"Perhaps," Cresswell pulled over and the two of them got out of their car, making their way to where the snow-plough driver now stood.

"It's a wonder I even saw this," the man told them, indicating the brush to their right, "I very nearly drove right past it. Do you think this is what you could be looking for?"

"Perhaps…I'm just going to call EMS…" Cresswell took his phone out of his pocket, all the while trying to peer into the darkness.

After making sure that several vehicles were indeed being sent to their location, he called Harm and let him know where they were. Harm told him he and Mattie were not far away and would be straight there.

"Oh, if she's been out in this, for so long!" Mrs Cresswell fretted and her husband put and arm around her.

OOOO

Mac had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past hour and each time she woke up, she was surprised to still be living.

"I'm still here," she thought to herself, "I thought the hypothermia was much more efficient than this."

She mused that it was funny; she'd always thought she'd die in more of a combat situation, when the time came. Goodness knew that she and Harm had gotten into some scrapes, in times past.

"Guess I'm just not lucky enough to be taken quick and painlessly…" she told herself.

OOOO

"There!" Mattie exclaimed, following the reaction in her gut more than the figures she saw at the side of the road.

"Wait!" Harm exclaimed, "Let me come round and get you…"

"Harm…" Mattie began to argue, but Harm silenced her, "Please, Mattie, I don't want anything to happen to you, too…"

Mattie reluctantly nodded and waited until Harm came around to her side of the car and helped her out. They virtually skated across the icy road until they got to where the Cresswells were standing with the snow-plough driver, still waiting for EMS.

"This is it, I know it," Mattie looked at the jagged dark hole in the underbrush and although any other signs were now covered with snow, she knew within her heart that she was right.

"Stay here," Harm took hold of her arm, "EMS should be here soon…"

"But she could be in there…Surely we need to find out, before the EMS crew will get here?"

"She's right," Creswell nodded, going to his car and retrieving a large flashlight.

He and Harm took off into the underbrush, while Mattie and Mrs. Cresswell stayed to look for the EMS crew approaching.

The journey downhill was steep and right from the start, Cresswell and Harm were sliding all over the place.

"Easy there, Commander," Gordon tried to ease the tension with some humor, as Harm narrowly avoided skiing downhill on his back by grasping onto a small but wiry sapling.

"I'm okay," Harm picked himself up, ignoring the dark sludge now smeared down his back.

After a lot of stumbles, they hit what seemed to be a ledge, which they peered over, into the darkness.

"Sir?" Harm managed to breathe in question as they both took in the dark car that was below them, tangled up in the braches of a large tree, facing nose down.

"That's her…" Cresswell confirmed and Harm immediately went to hoist himself over the ledge.

"Wait for EMS, Harm," Gordon caught his arm, all the while knowing his effort would be futile.

"I have to get to her, Sir," Harm's eyes begged his CO to understand.

Luckily, Cresswell knew he'd do the same thing for either of the women in his life, so he nodded for Harm to go on, warning "Just be careful. I don't want EMS to be hoisting you out of there, too."

Harm carefully picked his way down, but it was very steep and he was already so dirty, so in the end, when he judged himself to be about 50 meters from the ground, he skidded the rest of the way down backwards, almost on all fours. Once he picked himself up out of the mass of leaf-litter and muddy snow he'd brought down with him, he shouted up to his CO that he was alright and that he'd go and assess the position of the car, to see if Mac was safe to remain in there until EMS came. Cresswell said he'd head back and call the EMS crew again, to let them know they'd need rappelling equipment.

It didn't take Harm long to pick his way round the car and his heart stopped in his chest when he caught sight of Mac lying face down against the steering wheel.

"Mac!" he shouted her name, several times, while trying to climb up the tree to get to her.

"Mac!"

OOOO


	10. Chapter 10

OOOO

Part 10

Mac didn't believe it when she heard her name. She was coming out of a vivid dream and didn't want to go back to reality, not when she had been so cold and had been hurting so much.

"If I ignore it," she thought, "then maybe I'll be able to get back to sleep and go in peace, without waking again…"

"Mac!"

That sounded so like her Flyboy, though and it was breaking her heart.

"If only," she mumbled to herself, quietly.

OOOO

Harm could not get round to the front passenger door, but he assessed the way the car seemed to be caught and thought that it seemed to be safe and steady enough for him to climb in and get to Mac.

He wrenched open the back door and when the branches supporting the car didn't seem to protest, carefully climbed inside.

"Mac?" he called, softly, lowering himself down so that he was lying against the back of the driver's seat, "Are you okay? Honey, speak to me…"

He stretched his arm down and gently nudged her shoulder.

"Mac, please, let me know if you're okay…"

He only got a harsh groan, but it told him that she was still in the land of the living, which was miraculous, seeing as she'd been outside in the frigid cold for over 24 hours, now.

"Hey, Ninja-girl," his soft voice spoke of his joy at finding her, "I've come to get you out of here. Can you tell me, are you hurt?"

"Unnggghh…rrr…ribs…"

"Your ribs are hurt? Where anywhere else, Honey?"

"Head…" she moaned.

"Can you move your legs, Sarah?"

"Ungh-huhngh…"

Harm took that to mean 'Yes.'

"C...c...cold..."

"I know, sweetie..."

Harm could only comfort her with words and drop his jacket over her back, though he ached to somehow take her in his arms.

"Okay, just hold on tight," he kept his hand on her shoulder, "EMS are on their way. They're going to get a gurney down here and we'll get you out."

"Unnnggghh, Haarrmm…"

"What is it, Ninja-girl?"

"Really…you?"

"Yeah, it's really me, I promise…"

Never…break…a promise…"

"Nope haven't yet and I don't intend to anytime soon…"

"I love you, Harm…"

Harm couldn't help but grin as his heart took flight at her words. If they weren't sitting a wrecked car in a tree, just now, he'd kiss her!

"I love you too, Sweetie…Just you hold on for me, okay?"

"Yeah…"

OOOO

The rest of the JAG staff members were now assembled at the road-side, watching as the EMS crew got all of their equipment sorted.

"I'd say the ledge the Colonel's car went over is 200-300 meters down," Cresswell told the fire-chief, "Then there's a drop of about 150 metres, until you reach the ground. Commander Rabb is already down there, so he'll guide you down."

"Thank you, Sir…" the man nodded and went to lead his men into the forest.

"The poor Colonel," Harriet was blotting her eyes with a sodden tissue, "She's been there all of that time in the cold and…and maybe she's even badly hurt…"

"She'll be okay, Honey," Bud tried his best to console her, "The Commander's with her, now. She's going to be alright."

Jen had a supportive arm around Mattie, but even though her jacket was keeping out the cold, she still shook slightly from the shock.

"She's going to be okay, Mattie," Jen assured her, softly, "We've found her, now…"

OOOO

Harm jumped as his cell-phone shrilled in the still of the car.

"That's the EMS on their way, Harm…They should be setting up to rappel

down to you…"

"I'm with the Colonel, Sir…"

"Are you two safe? Is the car stable? How's the Colonel?"

"The Colonel is pretty banged up and very cold, but she's still conscious, Sir…The car doesn't seem to be going anywhere."

"Thank God," Cresswell murmured, adding, "I guess we have Mother Nature to thank, for this miracle."

"I guess so, Sir," Harm replied.

OOOO


	11. Chapter 11

So sorry for the delay! Been having problems with my computer, today! And thanks for all of the reviews! I really appreciate all of the encouragement and advice!

OOOO

Part 11

"It's a miracle," the fire chief pronounced, as he caught sight of the way the car was caught up in the trees below them, "If she'd have hit the ground, the impact would have killed her before she knew what had happened…And in this weather...I think the engine must have kept running for some time. Otherwise she would have froze to death by now."

"Sure looks that way," his deputy agreed.

Once the equipment was ready, they sent the first officers over the ledge and down to the forest floor. It took a while to get everyone in the team and the first-aid equipment down, but once they had checked out the position of the car, they knew it would take a while to get the injured woman out.

"Commander Rabb?" the fire chief called and Harm's face appeared from behind the driver's seat.

"We're going to get your friend out, Sir, but we need you out of there," the fire chief told him, "We'll need room to work and we need to make sure the car is secured, properly before we try to move the Colonel."

"I can't stay here?" Harm didn't want to leave Mac.

"I'm afraid not, Sir," he was told, "We need to make sure you're safely out of the way, just in case."

"I'm not leaving until I know this car isn't going anywhere," Harm shook his head.

The fire-chief sent two of his men up into the trees, to examine how the car was sitting. They'd secure chains around the car and the tree, to make sure the medics were safe when they went into the car to work on the Colonel.

"We'll just make sure everything's secure, first," he assured Harm, "then you can come down and wait for her down here. The medics will need to get into where you are."

Harm nodded and turned his attention back to Mac.

"You okay, Marine?"

Mac just groaned, sleepily.

"That's the fire-crew and the medics here, now. We're going to get you out real soon, okay? I just need you to stay awake, Sarah."

With a lot of effort, Mac managed to open her eyes, but it was a battle to keep them open.

The two of them stayed where they were, watching as the EMS crew moved about below them.

OOOO

"That's them secured the car, Sir," the officer reported to Cresswell, "They can go in and get the colonel out, now…"

"Good," Cresswell.

But he knew from what little he'd seen of the car that it would not be a simple and straight-forward operation. And who knew just what injuries Mac had?

The rest of the staff sat around on some canvas chairs that somebody had gone home to fetch. There were cups of hot coffee passed around, but it did little to ward off the cold wind that was blowing. Still, nobody was going anywhere until the Colonel was safely in the back of an ambulance.

OOOO

After his initial hesitation, Harm knew that the sooner he climbed out of the car, the sooner the medics could get to Mac.

"I've got to move out of the way, now, Marine," he told her, gently, "But I'll be waiting for you down there, okay?"

"Harm," Mac could only manage a whispered protest, "Don't go…"

"I've got to go and clear the way ahead, okay? I know that's usually the Marine Corp's line, but the Navy will have to get the job done, this time! I'll be there, as soon as the medics get you out, I promise."

"Promise?"

"I promise, Ninja-girl…I love you," Harm stroked her cheek, the most intimate gesture he could managed at the moment, "I'll see you down there."

Harm climbed out and let the medics get in and do their job. He slowly picked his way down to the ground, but it was much more difficult going down than up. The fire-crew caught him as he stumbled down the last few meters then helped him over to where another set of medics checked him out.

"I'm fine," he told them, "Just a little tired and cold…"

"We'll just check you over, commander," they told him, draping a warm blanket around his shoulders, "just so we know you're alright and able to take care of your partner…"

"Thanks, guys," Harm thanked them, watching the other medics work on Mac up in the car.

They had to be very careful how they moved Mac, so as not to exacerbate her injuries further, but at the same time, she was in a very awkward position in a car that was facing nose down, in a tree! After much careful maneuvering, they had her secured to a back-board with her back and neck completely immobilized and a warming blanket around her, now that she was going to be lifted out and exposed to the elements.

Harm knew the scariest part for her would be the descent to the ground. Marine or not, Mac was probably feeling very out of control and far from her comfort zone.

"You're okay, Mac," he reassured her, the whole way down, "I'm right here, you're doing fine…Almost there, now, Marine!"

He was the first thing her eyes went to, even in the dim light and in her condition, she could still pick his form out of a crowd.

"Harm?"

"I'm right here…You're going to be okay, now. We're going to get you up to the ambulance…"

Like it or not, they still had the steep slope to hoist Mac's gurney up, before they got her to safety. They wrapped her up securely in some more warming blankets for the journey.

"Can you manage, sir?" One of the medics checked with Harm, "because we can give you help, if you need it. We've got an extra gurney, here…"

"I'll be fine," Harm assured him, "I want to stay with my partner, while they're lifting her up…"

"Okay, if you follow the chief, there, Sir, he can get you geared up…"

OOOO


	12. Chapter 12

OOOO

Part 12

Gordon Cresswell could hardly believe the crowd that had amassed in what was essentially the middle of nowhere, since they'd pulled over, nearly three hours before. As well as the EMS crew, the JAG staff and assorted family members, the press had descended surprisingly quickly, considering the time of night. He had no idea where they'd gotten the tip-off, but it just showed that journalists and reporters in DC never slept!

The police officers had put up a barrier of tape to keep the press back, so the JAG staff didn't have to contend with any rowdy press members, but Gordon knew he'd have to give some sort of statement at some point. He'd wait to do so once he knew more about Mac's condition and if she was going to be okay ('God willing,' he prayed…)

When the first officers appeared through the trees, the members of the press were faster to react than even the JAG crew.

"Hold on," Cresswell urged his team to stay back, "Let's just give them plenty of space. I'm sure they need to get the Colonel straight into an ambulance…"

They caught sight of several medics, lifting the gurney, Harm by their side.

"How is she, Commander?" Cresswell shouted over, knowing many of Mac's friends and co-workers were still very worried about her.

"The medics think she's been very lucky," Harm came over and filled them in, "because her seatbelt broke during her fall. She seems to have broken ribs, serious hypothermia and a nasty gash on her forehead and they want to take extra precautions and check her out for spinal and internal injuries, too."

"Of course, I'm sure it's just a precautionary measure…" Cresswell patted the man on the back, effectively dismissing him so that he could go with his partner, "You go with the Colonel, make sure she gets the treatment she needs and we'll meet you at Bethesda."

"Aye sir…" Harm broke off as Mattie came barreling through the crowd of people.

Harm grabbed her before she ended up on her six, in the ice and snow.

"Harm!" She cried, tears running down her face, "Is Mac…is she going to be okay?"

"We hope so," Harm hugged her, quickly, "They're going to take her to Bethesda for a complete check-up, to make sure she doesn't have any injuries that aren't apparent. You go with Jen, she'll bring you to the hospital and I'll come and tell you once I know more, okay?"

Mattie didn't want to let her former-guardian out of her sight, but knew that Mac needed him more, just now.

"Okay…Take good care of her…Tell her I love her, okay?"

"Okay, kiddo," Harm gently stroked her teary face, "Don't you worry, everything's going to be okay, now. Mac's going to get the care that she needs."

With that, the ambulance was ready to leave, so Harm quickly climbed aboard.

OOOO

Five days later…

"Oh Harm," Mac complained, in between bouts of laughter, "Please don't make me laugh anymore…It hurts!"

"Hey," he hugged her, gently, "I wasn't trying to make you laugh…All I was telling you about was my Mother playing chaperone at my first prom…It wasn't meant to be funny!"

Mac wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes.

"I'd better stop this, or I'm going to get my cast soggy!" she remarked.

"I think we should get markers and color it in!" Harm indicated the green cast that covered her broken left wrist, "I want to draw a pair of gold wings on there!"

"Nuh-uh," Mac shook her head, "I managed to convince my doctor to give me a nice marine-green cast, there's no way you're cluttering it up with pictures of your Navy squid stuff!"

They broke off as the door opened, admitting a very eager Mattie. Visiting hours had just begun, but Mattie had been unable to visit Mac while she had been under close observation in the ICU, the five days previous.

"Mac!" she was so happy to see her role-model, but knew she had to be careful not to hurt any of Mac's injuries.

"Hey there," Mac helped her settle down on the bed next to her and hug her in a way that didn't cause her any pain, "I've missed you, Mattie! How've you been?"

"I'm much better now that I know you're alright," Mattie told her, not making any attempt to pull away, "You scared me, Colonel…"

"I'm okay, now," Mac stroked her hair, reassuring her, "My doctors say that my ribs and my wrist should be healed in a couple of months and that my head injury shouldn't give me any problems after I'm allowed home."

"Good thing she has a hard head, huh?" Harm joked, with a grin, trying to cheer Mattie up a bit.

"Look who's talking," Mac retorted, "How many concussions have you sustained, Commander?"

"Hmmm…" Harm thought about it, pretending to keep losing count.

"Certainly more than I ever have," Mac concluded.

"Yeah, well, he's got me to keep an eye on him," Mattie told Mac, "I got permission to stay an extra week. I can receive and submit my schoolwork by email and as long as I keep up, I shouldn't have any problems once I go back."

"That's good," Mac smiled, "Now I've got an extra person to help smuggle some contraband in for me! Think you might be able to get hold of a Beltway Burger for me, sometime? Harm refuses to bring me anything, says that the medical waste that they serve here is both 'healthy' and 'nutritionally balanced'!"

"I'm sure Jen and I can manage something, tomorrow night!" Mattie nodded.

Harm just watched them, a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He was tempted to tease Mac some more about her eating habits, but he was just so glad that she was okay and that he had his two girls here, right now, safe once again.

OOOO


	13. Chapter 13

OOOO

Part 13

Mac woke up, the next Saturday morning to find Harm asleep in the chair beside her bed. He had come in late the previous afternoon, after going to JAG to take care of some important paperwork. The General had given him the next two weeks off work, but Mac knew there were matters that Harm felt he needed to take care of, himself.

"Hey," she greeted him as he sleepily opened one eye, "What are you still doing here. You're going to need a chiropractor to get out of that chair, squid!"

"Hmmm…" he chuckled, quietly, "Just wanted to stay and watch you sleep for a bit longer…Ended up falling asleep myself and slept like a log until just a few minutes ago. How did you sleep? Are you feeling any better?"

"Hmm," Mac indicated that her night had been so-so. She usually wasn't in too much pain, because the nurses gave her pain medication that Mac didn't have to worry about, what with her past alcohol problems. Her ribs sometimes made it a little uncomfortable when she went to turn over, though.

"Think you could get some more sleep?" Harm asked, leaning forward and dropping a kiss on the uninjured portion of her forehead.

With Harm's fingers stroking through her hair, soothingly, Mac found she would very easily be able to get back to sleep!

"Uh-huh," she nodded, already drowsy.

Harm chuckled, seeing her eyes beginning to droop.

"Good, you get some more sleep, I need to step out for a little while and take care of something, but I'll be back here before you have to wake up for lunch, okay?"

"'Kay," Mac managed to reply, before she drifted off.

OOOO

"Colonel, it's time to wake up," the sing-song voice of one of the nurses broke through the velvety warmth of sleep that curled itself around Mac, "Your lunch will be here any time, now."

As Mac began to stir, she heard the door close, so assumed that she was on her own, once again.

With a groan, Mac turned over and was momentarily surprised to see Harm back in his seat beside her bed.

"Hey!" she smiled, drowsily, "You're back…"

Then her internal clock kicked in and she realised that her lunch was supposed to be some time coming, yet.

"But it's only 1100 hours…Lunch isn't going to be ready, yet."

"I could step out and get you something, if you're hungry…" Harm volunteered.

"Nah, I'm not hungry, yet," Mac yawned widely and settled back down against her pillows, snuggling her face into them.

"Look's like somebody's still a tired little marine!" Harm grinned, "You sure you want to go back to sleep?"

Mac's answer was to close her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Harm persisted, "Because I think I might have something to help change your mind…"

Mac didn't take the bait, so Harm continued, "You sure seemed to be sleeping well when I got back, a couple of hours ago…The nurse was fiddling with the guard rails around your bed and you didn't even stir…How can you still be tired?"

"Just am," Mac pushed her face further into the pillows, trying to drown out the sound of her partner, "Please let me go back to sleep, Harm…"

She didn't even want to think about those darn rails around her bed…She was forever knocking one of her elbows off a thin bar that ran vertically from the rail to the bad-frame. It seemed to be perfectly placed, so as to be as much of a nuisance as possible to the poor patient occupying the bed!

"Sure there's nothing I can do to change your mind?"

When she shook her head, he persisted, "I've got something here that might persuade you to stay awake…"

"Hmmm?" Mac turned her head to him, but did nothing else to find out what it was that he had brought for her.

"C'mon Marine, you'll have to do better than that," Harm smiled and Mac heard a small metallic clatter, as he fidgeted with something on the guardrails of her bed.

After a second and third set of noise, Mac finally gave in and opened her eyes.

"That's what I want to see," Harm smiled in delight, "Those beautiful, big brown eyes!"

Mac couldn't help but smile back at him.

"So, what did you bring me? I didn't see anything…"

"You were asleep, but why don't you take a look? It's right next to you…"

Mac's eyebrows frowned in questions, but she lifted her head slightly off the pillow, surveying the mattress beside it. When she didn't see anything there, she peered over the bed and over the guard rails.

"You're not giving up already, are you?" Harm asked, smiling.

"No way, squid," Mac pulled a face at him, adding, "But where on earth have you put my pr…."

She froze as he made the noise again, spinning something around that thin bar affixed to the rails beside her bed. As the object came to a stop, the fluorescent lights above them caught the sparkly stone set in the elegant band of white gold.

Her mouth fell open as it registered what the object was, but then wondered how on earth Harm had managed to get it on the guard rail of her bed.

"I enlisted the nurse's help to get it on there," Harm seemingly read her thoughts, adding, with a chuckle, "and I'll probably need their help to get it off, again! I was hoping that you'd spot it when you woke up. I wasn't counting on a drowsy Marine upon waking!"

Mac's gaze flitted between Harm's and the engagement ring still encircling the thin bar.

"Well, how about it, Marine?" Harm actually looked much calmer on the outside than he felt on the inside, "How about we pledge our lives to each other and see just what life brings us, afterwards? After the last two weeks, I know that I don't want to sample married life and being part of a family unless you're a part of it, too…"

Mac didn't say anything for a few seconds, making Harm really sweat.

"How about you call a nurse, Flyboy," she suggested, with a mischievous glint in her eye, "so that we can get my ring off this rail and onto my finger, where it belongs!"

OOOO

Just the epilogue, now!


	14. Chapter 14

OOOO

Epilogue

"Mattie, would you pass me the mashed potatoes, please?" Harm spoke up, from his 'head position' at the table. They had laughed earlier about how the table didn't really have a head, because it was a perfect square.

"I can't believe we're having Christmas dinner during Spring Break!" Mattie chuckled, shaking her head.

"Mac deserves Christmas dinner, but had to be content to spend the real thing with the raccoons and squirrels…" Harm cracked, which made them laugh.

"Hey, you'd better be a little bit nice to me, Flyboy," she warned, with a glint in her eye, "If I don't get the complete Christmas experience, I'll make our married life seem like boot camp…"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Harm snapped off a salute, as he passed the bowl on to her.

Harm and Mattie had done everything they could to make this 'Christmas holiday' as special for Mac as possible. Mac's eyes had teared up at the sight of all their efforts and Harm and Mattie knew that she was only joking with what she had said to Harm. Besides the Christmas meal (complete with turkey and ham,) Harm had put up a big fake tree, with lots of gifts underneath and had even put a few pine-scented air-fresheners around the place, to enhance the atmosphere. The only thing they were missing tonight was snow, but Mac expressed that she didn't mind that at all! It was still an unseasonably cool night and they were able to have the fireplace going with a small fire.

Once dinner was finished, they moved to the living room, to swap gifts. Many were for Mattie; new clothes and supplies for returning to school and such, but Harm had his own little stack for Mac and she for him.

As far as Mac was concerned, though, she'd already received the greatest gift she could think of from Harm; his love. She even had a beautiful ring on her finger to symbolize just how much he loved her. A year ago, she wouldn't have believed that all of this; her heart's greatest wish, could possibly happen. But there it was, sparkling away in the fire-light, on her finger!

"Merry Christmas, Sarah!"

"Merry Christmas, Harm!"

FIN

AN: Thanks for all of your support and encouragement! Hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!


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